We are lucky to have ‘fantastic’ fans – Luke Chambers

That is the message today from Luke Chambers who has paid a special tribute to the support shown by Ipswich Town fans this season.

The bulk of supporters refused to turn on Paul Jewell as the Blues struggled at the bottom of the Championship and have had their patience rewarded since Mick McCarthy took over the hot-seat.

Three consecutive wins have lifted Ipswich away from the relegation zone and fans travelling to Leeds United tomorrow will do so in good heart – especially after the centre-back’s uplifting words.

Chambers said: “The connection the lads are feeling with the fans at the minute is brilliant.

“For me personally since I came to the club, the fans have been absolutely fantastic in sticking with us the way they have done.

“I don’t think they have booed much, when the way we were performing deserved a hell of a lot of booing.

“With my previous club, Nottingham Forest, you would get the odd boo when you went off the pitch goalless at half-time. It is a little different down here.

“The fans have been very patient towards us. I said to the lads in the dressing room that they don’t know how lucky we are to have fans who are on our side and who are sticking with us when things are down.”

Chambers was dropped for the 1-1 draw with Peterborough last month but won his place back in the team for the next match, the win against Nottingham Forest, and kept it for subsequent victories over Bolton and Millwall.

The defender has become something of a fans’ favourite for the way he has celebrated the recent wins in front of the Town faithful. But he revealed: “I’m not really enjoying the wins at the minute – it is more a relief that we are moving in the right direction.

“We are making Portman Road the fortress that it should be and long may that continue. Whether we win, draw or get beat, the fans stay with us until the end.

“There is a hell of a lot of journeys they make to come and see us play and the least we can do is go over there and acknowledge them. The fans have been great and they deserve something to cheer about.”

I am not sure about the logic in the statement that the bulk of the fans that did not turn on Paul Jewell have had their patience rewarded. Surely it was more a case of us that did constantly point out Jewells failings that may just have had a say in getting him replaced. In that case perhaps the bulk of the fans should thank us otherwise they may still have been watching a team by this time adrift at the foot of the table.

As I attempted to point out a few days ago the vast majority of supporters were sympathetic to Paul jewell's struggles and had the intelligence to realise that to a large extent his hands were tied. Mick McCarthy is also saying much the same thing. "I won't be looking at contracts until we are safe." Now where have we heard that before? The truth is that this aspect is out of the managers domain and consequently they must carry the can if they cannot produce a winning formula with this kind of handicap in place.